Joined: Thu May 26, 2005 12:00 pmPosts: 530Location: At work longing for the outdoors!

From KPT:

Quote:

Water brings life to New Kruger Campsite

After months of searching, hydrologists have finally struck water in sufficient quantities to allow plans to go ahead to build a new rustic campsite about seven kilometres south of Mopani. Located near the seasonal Tsendze River, the proposed campsite will cater for those individuals who like to holiday away from it all without the modern comforts of electricity and shops.Regional manager for northern Kruger, Ben van Eeden, says the campsite will be different to Kruger's other sites, and will allow visitors to enjoy true bush quality and atmosphere. It will not be an open area. There will be individual sites with privacy.The new camping grounds will have 30 sites that can be booked, plus four reserve sites for emergencies.Lights for the ablution facilities will be solar-powered, and gas will be used to provide warm water. Van Eeden says that the park identified the need several years ago for this type of camping, and funds were sourced to create the camp. Locating the campsite near the Tsendze River provides great scenic beauty and provides alternative accommodation between Letaba and Shingwedzi. Van Eeden adds that the site will be a perfect stop over for those en route to the Giriyondo border post and a camping experience in Mozambique. However, the environmental impact process that was started about 18 months ago found that the known water resources would not sustain the camp.Planning came to a halt while hydrologists looked for water, and after several months of searching a suitable borehole was finally drilled in early November. Van Eeden estimates that construction of the campsite will only take about six months to complete, as it is designed to have a limited impact.

Joined: Thu May 26, 2005 12:00 pmPosts: 530Location: At work longing for the outdoors!

From KPT Vol 2 Issue 21

Quote:

New Rustic Campsite Gets Go Ahead From Environmental Affairs

The department of environmental affairs and tourism has issued a record of decision stating that the construction of the Tsendze rustic campsite may go ahead. The campsite will be located near the Mooiplaas picnic spot in the Kruger National Park.

The proposed Tsendze campsite has been on the cards for over a year, but the environmental impact assessment process identified a potential problem in the lack of water available to service the campsite.A suitable borehole was finally drilled late last year, allowing the environmental scoping process to come to a close. The proposed campsite will have 34 gravelled campsites and two ablution facilities. It will be located in an area bounded by a loop of the Tsendze River and the tar road between Letaba and Mopani rest camps. There will be no electricity at the campsite, and gas geysers will provide hot water. The record of decision states that the project may go ahead subject to the conditions laid out in the proposed environmental management plan that accompanied the scoping report. In terms of the law, appeals against the project may be lodged with the minister of environmental affairs and tourism within 30 days of January 18, 2006, the date the record of decision was issued.

If all goes well, the camp will open in November. Tsende Rustic Camp will have 30 sites. "It is truly rustic, with no electricity, no lawns and no formal paved roadways". There are lots of trees to provide shade.

Tue, 24 Oct 2006The latest overnight option in the Kruger National Park was unveiled to the public for the first time on Tuesday.

Designed with a back-to-basics theme, Tsendze Rustic Campsite includes 34 camp sites, two ablution facilities and two camp kitchens. Scheduled to receive its first guests from November 1, the facility is conveniently located seven kilometres south of Mopani Rest Camp and about 20 kilometres north of the Giriyondo/Makhadzi turn off on the H1-6 main road between Letaba and Mopani rest camps.

Keeping with the theme of Tsendze Rustic Campsite, services provided have been kept to the basics with warm water from gas geysers and lighting in the kitchens and ablutions provided by a solar battery system. There will be no electricity supplied to the campers at the camp and generators will not be allowed to operate, thus ensuring that noise levels are kept to an absolute minimum.

Each campsite is equipped with a refuse bin and braai facilities with taps shared between every three campsites. Ablution blocks feature two unique “open-to-the-skies” showers. Guests will be required to check-in at Mopani Rest Camp Reception where a specific site will be allocated to them.

Camping rates for Tsendze Rustic Campsite will be the same as the basic KNP campsite rate for the site itself (up to two people) and R** per extra adult and R** per child; up to a maximum of six people per campsite; for the first year of its operation. Normal daily conservation fees will also apply for guests who do not own Wild Cards.

Says veteran Mooiplaas Section Ranger Johann Oelofse, who was responsible for the environmental management plan, the new Tsendze Rustic Campsite has been designed for those campers who wish to break away from the more modern campsites available in the KNP.

“Like Maroela Campsite near Orpen Camp and Gate, Tsendze Rustic Campsite like its name suggests will offer campers their very own camp that they do not have to share with their brick and mortar-orientated fellow visitors,” he said.

Situated in the shade of ancient and beautiful Leadwood, Mopane and Apple-Leaf trees, the emphasis of Tsendze Rustic Campsite has been placed on a rustic experience with the campsites placed in two circles around the ablution and kitchen facilities.

“We expect that the new Tsendze Rustic Campsite, which was designed using the latest ‘touch-the-earth-lightly’ principle, will no doubt become extremely popular and visitors will appreciate the true rustic atmosphere,” concluded Mr Oelofse.

Bookings, which are already open, can be made at SANParks Central Reservations on +27 12 428 9111 or via http://www.sanparks.org.

im sitting typing this outside my tent at Tzendze!!!
there is data (gprs) coverage at this camp

the name describes it all RUSTIC.
you cannot go wrong with any campsite chosen in here, although i must say some of them will become choice sites... eg #6.
we were allocated site #1 but when we got here we saw #3 was better and on the fence, so a quick call to busi at mopani and she swopped us on the sytem THANKS BUSI.

ablutions and kitchen area fantastic. there are in actual fact two sets of toilets and two sets of kitchen, one on this side of camp and one on other... so that makes it two gas fridges, which i suppose is great for if one breaks hey?

the guy looking after us here is roger and we spent a good time chatting with him last night, he also gives this place something special..... you will see

its a very quite camp, fantastic bird song ALL DAY. coz its new there dont seem to be hyenas patrolling the fences yet. which could be good or bad. we heard lion far far far off last night. but otherwise very quiet. out of 30 someting campsites only 2 were full, so we really felt like we owned this piece of bush we were sleeping in.... now if i could just learn to upload pics...
who can i mail pics to that could upload them for me???

We spent ten nights in Tsendze from the 27th of December - had no 6 and really enjoyed it.However, I was a bit disappointed. With the descriptions of the camp in mind, I expected more shade and more privacy. On the day we arrived, the temperature was about 42 and it climbed steadily until Friday afternoon to 46,8. Many of the sites have little or no shade in the middle of the day - need I say more?The only site with real privacy is no 3, but again, if you like to spend time in camp, shade is a problem. No 6 is in my opinion the best site, providing (and this was really a big issue for us) no 5 is not occupied. We faced the fence, with shade almost the whole day - ideal - but with people on no 5 you have absolutely no privacy. Fortunately we had neighbours for only five nights. Some of the stands are really small and close together, but all in all it still was a wonderful ten days. The camp was almost fully booked every night, but it was very peaceful and quiet. The open air showers are awesome - wish every camp in Kruger could have some.The two camp attendants, Roger and Evelina, are something special. We had many visitors at the fence - impala, waterbuck, bushbuck and elephants. The birdlife is prolific.I would definitely visit Tsendze again. To go out of season would be absolute bliss I think.

Hi Andrewschaf There are two communal freezers at Tsendze, one for each kitchen. As I have mentioned in my previous post, it is not really a freezer - more like a fridge, because it is being opened so often.No 6 is definitely the best site and it does not face onto Mooiplaas. None of the sites is really private, except maybe no 3.Tsendze really is worth a visit and I hope you enjoy your stay.

Andrewschaf
Of the two sites no 3 is closest to the entrance - if I remember correctly you can see the entrance road from this site.
Also remember there is virtually no shade here.
No 6 faces away from the access road and is quite a distance from the gate.
Looking forward to your trip report.

AndrewschafIf I remember correctly no 26 is on the side of the camp facing Mooiplaas on the opposite side of the entrance gate.There are some nice big trees on that side, but I would still prefer no 6.I will draw a sketch on memory and fax it to you - I unfortunately do not have any idea how to post it on the Forum.

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